Oh the Leftovers!

A couple of friends invited us to their house this past Thanksgiving for a traditional turkey dinner. And of course what’s Thanksgiving without leftovers, right? Our gracious hosts begged us to take some turkey meat home. Mind you, Jeff and I had a lunch planned and a dinner to host on the following day. So this turkey had to wait in the fridge.

After two consecutive dinner parties our fridge was full of leftovers. One morning I stared at the fridge thinking about ways to transform the extra food into new dishes. Turkey meat got my first priority. I also saw the veggie tray that a couple of friends brought for appetizer on Friday night and I still had some chicken stock. Aha! A dish came to mind: Turkey and Vegetable Soup. But then I realized that we got quite a lot of the turkey leftovers that I could make another dish. I saw some leftover jasmine rice from yesterday’s lunch and I also found red hot finger peppers, Thai peppers, shallots, and onion too in my fridge—the perfect ingredients for fried rice. Another menu was born: Turkey Fried Rice.

Turkey and Vegetable Soup

I normally do this soup with chicken. But the turkey variation did not disappoint. I was able to make it very flavorful. The trick was to leave the soup overnight in the fridge to be enjoyed the next day.

Heat up two cups of chicken stock and a half of cup of water in a pot over medium heat

Add salt, white pepper powder, a half of teaspoon of minced garlic, and a half of teaspoon of nutmeg powder for aroma and peppery flavor

Shred the leftover turkey meat and put it in the boiling soup

Chop the baby carrots, broccoli, and celeries from the veggie tray and mix them in the pot with the turkey

Let it cook together for about 15-20 minutes

Turn off the heat and let the soup cool down

Put it in the fridge overnight so that the turkey and the vegetables absorb the chicken stock and spices

Have the soup for lunch the next day

Serve with a bread on the side

Turkey Fried Rice

First, infuse more flavors into the leftover turkey:

Heat up a cup of chicken stock in a pot over medium heat

Add salt and white pepper powder and let it simmer

Lower the heat and let the rest of the shredded turkey swim in the simmering chicken stock until the liquid is nearly gone

Second, prepare the sauce for the fried rice:

Chop and mix five red hot finger peppers, three Thai peppers, one shallots, a teaspoon of minced garlic, and a quarter of onion in a food processor

Heat up a large deep skillet over medium heat

Add a half of tablespoon of canola oil

Sauté the sauce for a minute or two

Mix the cold (cooked) white rice with the red sauce in the skillet. For best result, make two or three cups of rice the night before and then chill in the fridge

Stir until the rice is coated with the red sauce

Add salt

Drain the shredded turkey from the stock and mix them with the red rice

Scramble a couple of eggs in a frying pan and mix with the rice and turkey

Serve immediately with cut up lettuce and sliced cucumbers on the side

Note: Toppings for the fried rice may vary. You can also enjoy it with beef, chicken, or shrimp.

Warning: Spicy (Please adjust the number of chili peppers according to your spicy-tolerance level)